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The unpredictable president is as unpredictable as ever as he weighs a military attack against Iran.
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It's time for the legislative branch to step up.
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"We're at a moment of immense danger," warns HuffPost correspondent Akbar Shahid Ahmed, as the Trump administration appears increasingly amenable to escalating conflict with Iran. Ahmed shares what we know about the U.S. military buildup and the "magical thinking" of regime change rhetoric among Washington, D.C., policymakers that could turn into a "hugely devastating" war with Iran. Above all, says Ahmed, Trump's boasts about being an antiwar leader have not come true: "We haven't seen him solve any of the wars that he said he would address."
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Donald Trump has threatened to directly target Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and may be moving closer to ordering U.S. airstrikes on Iran. Meanwhile, Khamenei has rejected Trump's calls for "unconditional surrender," warning that Iran will meet any U.S. military action in Iran with "irreparable harm." In Tehran, many civilians have already evacuated after multiple Israeli strikes killed hundreds. "There's nothing sophisticated about slaughtering everyone in an apartment building to murder one or two people," says Mohammad Marandi about the strikes. Marandi, who has remained in Tehran, was part of the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations in 2015. He calls Trump's threat "an act of terror" but emphasizes that U.S. and Israeli vilification of Iran has "united the country more than ever before."
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We speak with Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba's deputy foreign minister, about the Trump administration's tightening restrictions on the country. Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has reinstated Cuba's designation as a so-called state sponsor of terrorism, recommitted to upholding the decadeslong economic embargo and targeted Cuban immigrants for deportation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now going after Cuba's medical program that sends Cuban doctors and healthcare workers to assist other countries. The island nation was also among the countries on Trump's travel ban that went into effect last week, severely limiting Cuban nationals from entering the U.S. This all comes as the Trump administration is reportedly planning to transfer thousands of immigrants to be detained at Guantánamo Bay. Fernández de Cossío says the influence of anti-Cuban politicians in the U.S. is "greater than any previous moment," which allows them to push "this narrow approach, which is not relevant to the interests of most Americans."
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Fighting between Israel and Iran has entered a fourth day, after Israel launched a sweeping, unprovoked attack. Iran's Health Ministry reports a total of 224 people have been killed, with 1,277 people hospitalized, by Israeli attacks. Iran has responded by launching a wave of missile attacks on Tel Aviv, Haifa and other Israeli cities, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 500.
We speak with Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, who says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "basically bombed away President Trump's only possibility for a diplomatic win early on in his second term." Vaez also argues President Trump is the only world leader with the ability to "stop this cycle of escalation from expanding into a much more disastrous regional conflagration."
Iranian-born Israeli political activist Orly Noy says Netanyau launched strikes on Iran to salvage his dwindling political popularity. The Israeli people are very susceptible to believing "the imaginary threats that Netanyahu uses," says Noy.
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